Daughter of the Hero

Chapter 9; a fight to remember

Malco

I launched into action, feeling the wind pushing me, making me move faster. Hand outstretched, I tried to wrap my hand around his arm to pull him away from the mouth of the cave so Cyprus—who I had contacted earlier—could get inside and get our people out.

Areos dodged me completely, sidestepping. I turned quickly and went back, trying to get a hand on him.

I wasn't going to kill him, just maybe remove a limb or two. He'd deserve it after what he did to Illia. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow enter the cave. Good. Cyprus was here.

I only had to hold out for a few more minutes.

We went back and forth, dodging and attacking. At one point, Areos got a good hit on my face, and I knew I'd have bruises the next day.

Then, I saw the shadow leave the cave with two other people. I gave the signal to Jerard, and up and away we flew.

Areos couldn't follow us up here.

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It was dawn when we finally made it back to the house. the sunlight's first beams were hitting us in such a way that it warmed my skin, and made me feel lighter. It was nice, almost welcoming. Almost. 

There would always be something about this mountainside house that didn't sit right with me. Maybe it was the circumstances under which I'd built it, or maybe it was the lack of welcoming art that my childhood home held. Either way, it felt like home, but also not. No words could describe how strange it was moving from your childhood home into the secluded mountains to get away from the people of your hometown. 

Illia was sitting in front of the fireplace when I entered through the hole in the mountain that we'd turned into a landing point for Jerard. 

"Hey, sweetheart," I said gently, careful not to spook her. She was still extremely skittish around me, although she loved Lillian. It was nice to see her finally coming out of her shell. 

I hadn't been sure she ever would, considering who her father was. He must have done horrible things, to make a child as sweet as this so afraid of people, so afraid to trust. 

God, it made me want to kill him. So, so badly. 

My fingers curled into a fist. Illia's head cocked to the side, eyes immediately finding my hands, eyes widening as she slowly moved away. 

"It's okay," I said gently, unfurling my fists and holding both hands in front of me. "I won't hurt you, Illia. I made you a promise, and I'm going to keep it. I will never, ever, lay a hand on you. 

She nodded slowly, but her eyes were still flooded with fear. 

I forced myself to turn away, otherwise I knew I would do something to scare her. 

I couldn't let her see the pure hatred on my face. At such a young age, she would think it was for her. 

It wasn't. It was for her pathetic excuse of a father. 

One day, he would taste my fury. But not yet. Now was the time for healing. 

Speaking of healing, Cyprus entered the room without hesitiation, dragging a half-dead Conner and a limping Lillian with him. 

"Everyone is okay?" I asked, scanning Conner's injuries. None of them would kill him, if we treated them right. "Well, maybe not okay. But alive?" 

Cyprus pressed two fingers into Conner's neck before looking at me and nodding. "alive, but barely." 

"I don't know what happened to him before I got there," Lillian said, lowering herself carefully onto the couch beside Conner, wincing as she did so. "But he was pretty banged up when I saw him, and Areos kept beating him after I got there." 

She sounded broken as she looked at Conner and said, "He made me watch. Marco, he made me watch as he did this." 

I felt my blood curl. "He will pay." 

"Yes," She said softly, eyes full of fire when they met mine. "He will." 

........................................................

It took a week for Conner to wake up, and four weeks for him to heal enough to start training again. I let him rest as long as possible, but when the fourth week of him laying in bed doing nothing rolled around, he refused to go without training any longer. 

There was a new fire behind his movements, a new force behind his powers. It was clear that it drove him, and who was I to take that away? 

"Remember to be careful," I said to my team. It was our first mission since the bank, and I wanted everything to go smoothly. "We can't beat Areos alone, we need more people. Try to avoid him as much as possible, Conner." 

Conner looked up, defiance in his face. "Why?" 

"Because," I said as gently as I could. "If he sees you again, he'll kill you. The people will love him for it, and you'll be no use to us dead." 

Conner's face fell as the truth set in. "Fine." 

I almost felt bad for saving his life, but I reminded myself that was what I was doing. Conner needed to be protected, especially now that he had a personal vendetta against Areos. We all knew we couldn't beat the hero, but Conner might try even then. 

There was resignation on his face, but not hopelessness. Good. That was the most I could ask of him for now. 

"Alright then," I said, straightening and looking each of them in the eye. "Let's do this."